‘I let my friends choose my boyfriend’

There might be a few drivers that pass by unscathed (that friend of yours who went on Tinder once and found a long-term partner) but very few of the people caught in the middle know how to find their way through the mess.

Do you swipe right on that guy posing with a tiger in Bali?

How strict should your rule against gym selfies be?

Does that dude have serial killer eyes or is he just brooding?

These are the questions single folk ask while swiping, and sometimes it can be tricky to land on the right answer. Sometimes, what you need is a friend to slap your phone out of your hand before you match with another Virgo.

And we all felt the sting when the person behind said profile didn't like me back …

"What the hell, Mike?"

"Mike's dead now."

THEY GOT ME TO CONSIDER PEOPLE I WOULDN'T USUALLY MATCH WITH

The thing with this app is if your friend swipes right on a profile and the person behind that profile swipes right on you, it's a match.

You can choose to un-match if you really want to, sure. But it still means the person on the other end has a chance to send you a message, forcing you to consider people who might not traditionally be your "type".

THE CHAT FEATURE IS LOTS OF FUN

Having a group chat where you can weigh up potential dates is a seriously good time.

Did the conversation ever slip into silly banter? Absolutely. But everyone always stayed on topic; they only ever used the group to talk "business".

So, after my first foray into friends with dating app benefits, what are my thoughts?

Well … bringing your mates along for the ride is way more enjoyable than swiping solo.

We could all probably use a friendly nudge to break down the superficial walls that limit us on apps.

And I'm absolutely over Mike. Who needs him and his French Bulldog, anyway?

Stephanie Nuzzo is a freelance journalist. Continue the conversation @StephNuzzo

The app’s chat function was the site of much hilarity during the experiment. Picture: Supplied